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Malekith
__TOC__ 'History' For a timeline of events see Dynasties of Malekith Malekith was founded ca 200 Arcadian Time (ca 3000 years ago), by a dark elven king of the same name. The dark elves had existed as a tribe on the remote and inhospitable continent of Lumbren, constantly feuding with demonic tribes for the scarce habitable land and resources. The founding of Malekith marked the start of the dark elven civilisation and paved the way for their later dominance of the continent. The formerly simple tribe developed an urban culture and a written language, and took interest in magical study. The great breakthrough came ca 800 AT with the idea of using necromantic magic for civil purposes. The Malkian economy boomed with the adoption of undead labor, increasing the local mining and farming output manyfold. Undead labor also greatly increased construction speed, which augmented urban growth and expansion of local infrastructure. Communication with spirits also made the dark elves aware of civilisations beyond their own continent. The Church of Necromancy was established, which later became one of the prominent magical and religious associations in Arcadia. The era of isolation ended when the first human naval expedition landed on the shores of Lumbren ca 1300 AT. Malekith initiated trade relations with other Arcadian kingdoms. However, the diplomatic situation gradually turned sour when the dark elven fleets began to engage in large-scale contraband, piracy and slavery operations. While Malekith could maintain official relations at lukewarm levels, the anti-dark elven sentiment kept rising in human kingdoms in tact with dark elven criminal activity. Although, this attitude didn't exist in the wood elf, moon elf and angel realms, as they were relatively free from harrasment. Over the next centuries, the Malkian economy has become so reliant on the black market that there were no longer any efforts made to conceal it. Malekith reached the peak of its power in the 30th century AT. By that time, the dark elves constituted a minority of the population. The rest consisted of enslaved or undead humans, assimilated demons and expatriates from other realms, such as star elves and fallen angels. The realm had the largest standing army in the world (thanks to the progress made in the field of necromancy), as well as the second largest navy and the third largest economy. Through machinations of the king of Malekith, Carian Solidor, the human kingdom of Caelin came under indirect control of the Malkian crown. Diplomatic relations with other human nations in general, and the kingdom of Valor in particular, were abysmal. Outraged over the systematic piracy and coastal pillaging conducted by the Malkian navies, which were tantamount to undeclared war, the people of Valor demanded action from the crown. Contrary to everyone's expectations, the queen of Valor invited Carian to her court, in order to negotiate an alliance and improve relations between the two realms. Assumingly, her intentions were to end the Malkian raiding through diplomacy rather than military action, which greatly upset the Valorian nobility and commoners alike. Directly afterwards, the queen disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and a failed assassination attempt on Carian was conducted. Interpreting these events as an act of war against him, the king of Malekith launched an invasion against Valor in 2983 AT. The combined navies of Malekith and its puppet state Caelin scattered the Valorian fleet, landed a very large Malkian invasion force, and imposed a near total naval blockade of the continent. The Valorian land army, although smaller, was much better trained and equipped than that of Malekith. After an intense campaign and with large losses, the invading armies occupied most of Valor. Through king Carian's furhter manipulations, a large group of red dragons, the most elite forces of the Valorian army, defected to Malekith. The siege of the Valorian capitol of Obsidian, which was expected to take years, ended suddenly when the traitorous dragons airdropped Malkian troops on the city, which took the defenders completely by surprise. Obsidian surrendered after the city gates were opened from within and the undead legions poured into the city. The kingdom of Valor was undone. A colonial government was installed, and Malekith proclaimed itself to be an empire. (insert apocalyse here) Among the many cataclysms that followed the creation of Nyxheim, was the return of the inventor of necromancy, a dark elven noble known as Nagash. One of the most important rules of the Necromancer Church was to never raise other necromancers, but like so many other things during the Apocalypse, this taboo was broken. At first, a great mind like Nagash was welcomed to support Malekith though the unstable times. With the support of both the royal court and the noble houses, he was appointed as the head of the Church, a position he already held almost 2000 years ago. But soon, he began to show discontent with the way the Church has become corrupt and dependent on the national bureaucracy. Nagash has begun to take steps to re-separate the Church from the state, but his attempts were met with stiff resistance from the government. Following a long string of conflicts and incidents, the imperial crown decided to remove Nagash from his position. However, by that time, he had gained a large support base in the empire, and proclaimed the Church to be a sovereign entity, separate from Malekith. The Malkian Civil War broke out. The war was quite brief, as the Church had control over the undead armies that comprised over 90% of Malekith's armed forces. Together with his supporters, Nagash marched into the imperial palace and forced the crown to sign the Schism Treaty, in which Malekith granted the Church sovereignty and ceded Obsidian to it. Thus, Malekith lost its status as an empire and world power, apparently forever. Remaining Malkian holdings suffered a huge wave of emigration. Most of the sentient undead moved to Obsidian, the capitol of the new undead nation, while living non-slaves of most foreign races abandoned the city in search of better fortunes. Despite the near total loss of prestige and influence, and massive depopulation, Malekith retained its core population of loyal dark elves. However, the Malkian economy has been so reliant on the Church's undead labor in the past, that the city's national income was close to zero. There was not enough living slaves to maintain the economy, as many of them were killed in the defense of Malekith against Nagash. The royal court pushed forward with a series of desperate reforms in order to prevent societal collapse. This lead to the establishment of the Kabal system, an economy centered around Soul Essence and a policy of isolationism in order to promote national unity and keep away foreign influences. -WIP- 'Geography' Malekith has the shape of a pentagon, with three layers of tall walls dividing it along, and three main roads dividing it across. There is a district built around each road for all of the kabals, with each district being separated in two by a wall. The walls are named Outer Wall, Inner Wall and Enclave Wall in descending order of length. The city can be broken down to seven parts in total - an inner/outer part in each of the three road districts, and the Enclave Ring, which is its own district. It is located in a rocky mountain chain within the Midnight Marshes callled the Forlorn Ridge. 'Rings' The outer ring is, more or less, the main residential area of Malekith. It contains most of the housing in the city, along with a number of convenience shops and bars. It's generally calm and quiet, as the dark elves only come home to sleep and relax for a while before returning to their turbulent lives. Each house is tended by at least one slave; if the owner doesn't have any slaves, the house gets assigned a state-owned one. Dark elves care a lot about their city and nothing is allowed to fall into disrepair, as one poorly tended house is enough to destroy the atmosphere of the entire neighborhood. Theoretically, the city's building space is limited by the outer wall, but since the Malkian populaion growth is very slow and there's still plenty of room inside the walls, that is not foreseen to be a problem anytime soon. The inner ring is where all of the dark elven workplaces are. Depending on district, it can be anything from factories to temples to nightclubs. This is where people actually spend their days "fulfilling themselves" by whatever means they see fit, as prescribed by the Charneldarin way of life. The ring's level of activity doesn't vary much by time of day; some part of it is always busy. 'Districts' 'Enclave' The Royal Enclave, also known as the Enclave Ring or just the Enclave, is the central area of the city's pentagon. Within its walls stands the Spire of Passion - the headquarters of the Broken Heart kabal and the seat of the Malkian government. A number of other administrative buildings can be found here, surrounded by the only in Malekith artificial park. Although not belonging to any kabal and being considered "state property", the Enclave is run and inhabited by Sybarites, and is lavishly decorated, staying true to their spirit. The gates are usually open for anyone who has business with the court or just wants to relax in the park. At the royal palace's exit lies the "crossroads" where the city's three main roads intersect. 'Gildway' Gildway ("gilded path" in Eldarin) is a district built around the eastern main road of the same name. It has been named so after its overly extravagant embellishments. It is home to the Broken Heart kabal, and is paved with marble. Inner Gildway is something of an mix between Wall Street and Broadway; it contains the city's only bank and foreign trade company. Other than that, the area is dominated by shops, restaurants, clubs and art studios. It is always bustling with activity, as people from other kabals frequently come here to dine and shop. The district might seem quieter at night, but that's an illusion: the activity has merely moved indoors. Malkian nightlife can be safely dubbed as the wildest in Nyxheim - nowhere else can one witness such unrestrained debauchery that Sybarites host at their clubs. Outer Gildway is the richest residential area in the city, with two-story mansions being the norm. Modesty is considered bad taste among Sybarites: the more opulent and snobbish you can make your home, the better you can display your status. The outer street is also very neat and well-tended; with a brigade of slaves washing the roads with shampoo every day. 'Bloodway' Bloodway ("blood canal" in Eldarin) is a district built around the northern main road of the same name. It has been named after the large slaughterhouse where slaves are prepared before being delivered to the Gildway restaurants. It is home to the Bloody Claw kabal, and is paved with metal. Inner Bloodway can be seen as the industrial region of Malekith. Although not comparable in atmosphere to those of human cities, it is still more dirty and noisy than any other district. There are three notable manufacturing facilities here: the arms factory, the vehicle factory, and the Essence Capacitator factory. Rather than being single buildings under one roof, they are divided into many smaller, specialized workshops. Unlike other parts of the Outer Ring, Outer Bloodway is not only a residential area, but also contains the non-industrial Warrior workplaces. Training grounds, clinics, law enforcement offices and slave barracks, among other things, are located here. A notable structure is the Anchor of Murder, which is an enormous Essence Capacitator that keeps the Citadel of Murder in place above the city. 'Tantalize Reside' Tantalize Reside is the oldest district in Malekith, dating back to the city's founding in Arcadia around 2400 years ago, along what is now the southwestern main road. It is unclear whether it was named after the torture garden or the royal palace it once housed. It is home to the Crying Soul cabal, and is paved with fiberglass. Formerly the Malkian administration center, it has been gradually reformed into a mind-bending amalgam of magic and technology. Inner Reside consists almost entirely of Warlock laboratories, studies and libraries. The main facility here is the Altar of Grief, where soul essence is extracted from slaves. Outer Reside is a quet residential area, as Warlocks only come home to sleep and don't spend much time there. Buildings and roads are both made of half-transparent plexiglass, with dim purple soul essence-fueled lamps giving the area a haunting and surreal atmosphere. The main road has a surge of activity about once a week when a Warrior slaver excursion has to drive their hovercraft through the Iron Gate. 'Architecture' Dark elven architecture has remained largely unchanged in style since its first emergence thousands of years ago. Elegant, slender shapes and curves adorned with aggressive-looking edges and jagged spikes. Construction materials include various metals and glasses; some parts of the city, the city walls in particular, have been renovated using the recently invented fiberplastic technology. Wood, stone and brick are non-existent in Malekith, the former due to unavailability, the latter due to not sitting well with dark elven aesthetics. Metal chains of various mass are prevalent throughout the city. They were once used to detain slaves at their workplaces, but have become obsolete with the invention of essence capacitors and electrical locks. The old chains now serve an aesthetical and symbolical purpose, hanging from walls and ceilings as grim embellishments. Other common decorations include skeletons of "lesser races", such as humans, either dangling from said chains or nailed to walls. Some dark elves create entire panoramic "paintings" on their houses by arranging skeletons in various poses. 'Climate' Malekith is situated high in the mountains, so the air temperature is quite cold at an average of 5ºC and relatively dry. Not too long ago, it was mandatory to wear warm clothes at all times, as the common charneldar construction materials are particularly poor heat isolators. Things changed with the invention of foam rubber - indoor environments are now quite pleasant, though it's still necessary to wear a warm cloak when going outside at all times of the year. Rain and snow are rare as the strong local winds disperse most of the clouds and Malekith is far away from large water bodies. Due to how the mountains around the city are positioned, there is a perpetual gale in the area of approach to the city. This makes it impossible to pilot vessels that rely on aerodynamics, such planes and skyships, as even massive craft will simply be flung against the surrounding peaks by the wind current. Dark elven hovercraft don't suffer from this problem, since they can position themselves relative to the wind at any angle of their choosing; they can even fly sideways if the air currents demand it. 'Infrastructure' 'Transport' The city is small enough to get around on foot in, but many Warriors and Sybarites own hoverbikes or cruisers for when they need to venture outside. Warlocks get around by short-range teleportation hubs located at key points in the Tantalize Reside. There is no form of public transport in Malekith. Because of how the city is positioned in the mountains, there is no way to get to it from the ground, so a flying or hovering vehicle is a requirement in order to come and leave. 'Energy' Malekith obtains all of its energy in the form of soul essence. It is used to fuel the many essence capacitators that make the city run. However, soul essence is not a natural resource and cannot be harvested with an axe or mining pick. It requires a steady supply of sapient creatures to be agonized and robbed of their souls bit by bit. Ultimately, Malekith source of energy is slaves, most of which are abducted from outlying human cities. Efforts have been made to render Malekith completely self-sustaining by organizing "slave farms" where the slaves would breed on their own, but this production method proved far too slow. Human children must grow to around 15 years of age before they can comprehend emotional pain and thus be effective subjects for essence extraction. Therefore, it was decided that the humans can very well grow ripe in their own cities, and then be picked by charneldar "gardeners". There has been a project to mimic the city of Caelin and erect wind turbines on the nearby mountain peaks to generate electricity, but they had to be torn down due to the extreme noise they generated. Due to lack of other alternatives, Malekith is supplied solely by soul essence at the moment. 'Education' Charneldar educate their young using an apprenticeship system, where a student is adopted into a clan of experts on the particular job. For more details, see the dark elf race article. 'Health' There are no large, human-styled hospitals in Malekith. Due to their physically oriented kabal doctrine, Warriors have assumed the responsibility of health care in the city. There is a number of clan-run clinics to be found in the Bloodway district, each specializing in a specific type of malady and able to take care of several patients at once. As the dark elven lifestyle is not designed with much safety in mind, accidents and injuries are quite common, and a number of ambulance hovercruisers are kept by the clinics to respond to emergencies. 'Demography' Free population - 100% Dark Elves, contains 1% of which are vampires and wights Other races are present in single digit numbers. Total population - 40% Dark Elves - 45% Humans - 15% Other The free population of Malekith consists entirely of pure-blooded dark elves, Other races are either viewed as mere slave material, such as humans and the efferii, or simply not accepted due to having no place in the society, such as moon and wood elves. There has been a stigma against the undead after the schism with the Church, but it has largely worn off at this point, so dark elf vampires are present in small number, though they are assimilated into the kabals and don't have any own communities. Some non-charneldar can be found at the royal court, such as dragons, but only by royal invitation and on special conditions. For a detailed explanation of the dark elf society, see Dark Elf Kabal. Many slaves are "occupied" at the Altar of Grief for soul essence extraction, but this is compensated by the mechanization of various industrial tasks. Personal servants are still in high demand, so if a slave has an attractive appearance, an obedient nature and a set of housekeeping skills, he or she is guaranteed to find a buyer. Slaves of all races are subjects to major moral degeneration after a while of Malkian life, as they witness heinous acts committed everyday and their diet consists of human meat and souls, much like their masters'. 'Politics' 'Government' Malekith is a monarchy with no constitution; where your laws are written by your superiors, and their laws are written by their superiors. Perhaps unsurprisingly, liberty is not high on the dark elven list of virtues, and this doesn't reflect solely on slaves. The city is ruled by an oligarchy, which includes the royal family and the noble clans of each kabal. This type of centralized administration allows for an effective and fast-reaction political machine that has good insight in the city's state of affairs. Hierarchy is strictly kabal-specific. Each clan must regularly make an activity report to its kabal's governing body, where it includes a rundown of each member's activity, as well as resource requests. Achievements which have been deemed notable will be delegated to the royal court, which then issues rewards. Because these reports are very important, forging them is a serious crime, and the kabal's nobles will periodically come around and check whether they are true. Clanless individuals do not submit any reports, which means more freedom and independence. This is, however, also one of the reasons of their relative poverty and low status, because their work get less attention from the nobility. The court itself shows a prime example of despotic rule. There are no elections made for any position; the monarch appoints all ministers single-handedly, and many other positions are simply inherited. Witht that being said, dark elves have very little tolerate for incompetent bureaucrats, and incompetence in general. Even a person of noble birth has a risk of being fired from his or her position in favor of a lesser-blooded, but more capable candidate. Corruption is present to a small degree, but due to the compact volume of Malekith and its administration, it is very hard to slip even minor mismanagement and fund leakages past the radar. 'Political Factions' Each kabal has several noble clans that represent its interests at the Enclave. Because the royal court itself monstly consists of Sybarites, it's only natural that there's a tilt of favor in their direction, but the recent sharp critiques on this trend has forced them to respect the other two kabals more. The court has taken measures to prevent any clans from growing too intertwined and form large corporation-like entities as observed in human cities. That would lead to decentralization of influence, and pave way for mercantile interests to take priority over social ones, both which would be detrimental, according to the court. In short, there are four major political entitiesin Malekith - the three noble courts of each kabal, and the royal court, with the former striving for the attention of the latter. The royal court acts as a moderator; if one of the kabals has been getting a bit too much attention lately, something unjust might be going on and the flaw in balance must be corrected. 'Law & Crime ' The legal codex in Malekith is very short compared to that of any other community, fitting in a 20-page booklet. Everything that the booklet doesn't cover is considered allowed. However, the things it does mention are enforced quite strictly, with "legal action" often being an euphemism for "complete brutalization of your life". There are no prisons in Malekith, and punishments are always instant-action - soul essence fines, physical punishment and eventually exile from clan and even Malekith itself. Crime is relatively rare on the whole, due to the impressive methods the charneldar authorities developed to deal with it. The legal trial system is simple. Not counting the guards, the court staff consists of only two people - the judge, who is always a high-ranking Warlock specialized in mind magic, and a secretary who also acts as the witness of the trial. The trial itself is very short - no questioning, no debate, no reasoning, and perhaps most impiortantly, no lawyer. The judge performs a so-called "memory dive", a ritual that allows him to tap into the alleged criminal's momory and watch it like a film. This is time-consuming, not to mention a major invasion of privacy, but also a failproof way of determining whether the suspect is guilty or not. Then, the judge issues punishment if applicable, the secretary writes a short protocol, and that's about it. An awkward and unfortunate side effect for the culprit is that the momory dive sometimes uncovers a bunch of violations nobody suspected him for. Death penalty does not exist, because all dark elven lives are considered highly valuable for various reasons. Killing one is enough to get anyone, even a high-ranking noble, exiled from the city; dooming them to a difficult and lonely existence, as charneldar "refugees" aren't really accepted in any respectable places. Surprisingly, slave murder is also a major crime, because it is considered squander of Malekith's most prescius resource. The offender is forced to file a detailed explanation as to why they did it, even if it was their own slave. If the judge found the killer's reasons lacking, he may revoke their slave ownership license. Personal Integrity: Each kabalite of Malekith is entitled to their life, health and property. Attempt to deprive them of such will result in legal action. Social Integrity: Each kabalite of Malekith is entitled to the loyalty of their subordinates. Attempt to deprive them of such will result in legal action. Operative Integrity: Each servant of Malekith is entitled to unhindered execution of their duties and their life, in that order. Attempt to deprive them of such will result in legal action. The above booklet excerpt divides law into three types of integrity: personal, social and operative. Personal integrity is the basic premise of a working community - thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal. The way it is phrased, however, implies that murdering and robbing any non-kabalite (i. e. anyone who is not a citizen of Malekith) is free game. Social integrity encompasses disobedience and corruption, ensuring a working hierarchy and administration in the city. Again, it can be interpreted that undermining and sabotaging any other city is perfectly fine. While the former two have always been present in Malekith in some form, Operative Integrity is a relatively fresh law. Slaves have always been property, and still are, but the social weight they carry has changed. In the Old World, before the invention of soul essence, slaves have been nothing more than manual laborers - useful, but expendable. Now that the entire dark elven race depends on the soul essence they provide, a change of attitude had to be in order. Not only did slaves get a major boost in monetary value, but also became more scarce as a work force - one more slave being tortured for soul essence is one less slave doing normal labor. Operative Integrity gives more safety, and thus efficiency, to the slaves that work. After all, if the street sweeper is too busy getting mugged by some bored dark elf, the street won't get swept. 'Foreign Relations' Malekith is on amicable terms with the elven commonwealth (which it is not a part of), although this is only politically justified; there is no notable traffic from Riv Amar due to personal animosity between the races. There is, however, minor trade taking place. Due to its slave acquisition policies, Malekith has abysmal relations with outlying human cities. Officially at war with Howldon, though the latter is unable to open a front due to the impossible geographical conditions dividing the two cities. 'Military' Malekith has a tiny standing army, comprised of around 1500 people. The reason why Malekith is considered a military force in Kyrheim is the dark elven magic and technology, which is many generations ahead of everyone else's. With the use of soul essence capacitators, Warriors have designed hovering vehicles able to move with great speed regardless of terrain and weather. Their personal weapons condensed shards of soul essence in a continuous burst, which gives a clear advantage over the relatively slow-firing contemporary firearms. These are called "splinter rifles", as the ammunition looks like glowing glass splinters when fired. Many Warriors also wield swords as secondary weapons, though melee weapons have mostly been rendered obsolete by the deadly soul splinter technology. Though already very powerful, the weapons and vehicles aren't the Malkian army's biggest strength - it is the magic lent by Warlocks. Scryers and mind travelers can gather intelligence faster than any physical spy, and instantly relay the information to the Warriors through telepathical networks. Teleportation specialists are able to move small strike teams where the enemy is most vulnerable at any given time, and then warp them away as soon as necessary. Lastly, illusionists can create mirages to confuse enemy commanders or demoralize enemy troops. Everything is done to ensure that the charneldar are always the one with the initiative, never letting enemies regroup or concentrate fire. A dark elf on the defensive is a dead dark elf. Despite all that, Malekith would have no chance against any other military when engaged on an open front. Due to their low numbers and lack of any serious armored vehicles, a dark elven force would be destroyed quickly if its assault lost momentum. Howldon hasn't yet laid waste Malekith only because it's geographically inaccessible with any form of travel available to the human military. Dark elves only conduct slave raids - descend, kill a few people, grab a few other people and leave, all within the span of one minute at most. Of course, each of these raids is planned by scrying for concentrations of Howldoner forces and striking where they are not. If a raid devolves into an actual two-sided firefight, something has gone terribly wrong. Malekith has no dedicated navy, but because their hovercraft can traverse water and air if necessary, they decided that they don't need any. There is a large, by dragon standards, number of dragons residing in the city on special conditions. Some of them act as bodyguards for the royal family, while others are employed by the Malkian military. 'Economy' Much of Malekith's economy depends on Soul Essence, and thus on the availability of slaves. Metals and carbon for construction are abundant in the surrounding mountains and are mined both with the help of slaves and newly developed (or stolen from humans) excavation machines. Although Malekith has an open market and accepts trade, little of it actually takes place, with only minor exports of metal to the elven commonwealth. By Nyxheim's standards, the average dark elf leads a rather luxurious, although dangerous, life. With huge resources at the disposal of a small community, each free citizen of Malekith owns a large, well-furnished house, can afford their own hoverbike or even a cruiser if they so wish, and at least one slave. This is not counting all the expensive weapons, manual and magical tools, and other items of everyday value. In the Old Word, Malekith minted their money out of metal, much like other cultures. When soul essence was invented, it gradually replaced that money due to its universal value.Additionally, a tiny vial of it is much more portable than a heavy coin bag of the same value. While humans started "upgrading" their monetary systems to banknotes, dark elves upgraded to soul essence vials, which is now the standard monetary unit and form of payment. There are four common vial sizes used: 50ml, 100ml, 300ml and 500ml (half a litre). 50ml will pay for a human-styled dinner at a good restaurant, 150ml is enough for a new set of clothes, a litre will buy a splinter rifle, and three litres is enough for a hoverbike. Slaves tend to cost anywhere from a half to five litres, depending on their age, education and physical and mental condition. Ten litres will net you a hovercruiser. Transactions tend not to get any larger than that, because houses in Malekith are a sensitive commodity due to lack of space, and thus are not allowed to be sold freely. An average elf earns around three litres per week, which when translated to Howldon's money would make them an upper-class citizen. 'Culture' There is a well-encompassing section about charneldar culture in their race article. 'Media' There are several Sybarite-owned radio stations, one of which is an official news broadcast mimicking that of Howldon, the rest being entertainment channels mostly meant for other Sybarites. Many clans have their own tiny-budget channels for clan-wide announcements, a counterpart to "local news". There are no newspapers due to the difficulty of actually getting paper to print them on, as there are no forests anywhere nearby and making long-range excursions was declared as being not worth the effort. There is no film or photography either at this point, though some Sybarites have started taking interest in the subject. 'Gallery' Keep of Secrets.jpg|Keep of Secrets, headquarters of the Cryisng Soul kabal Spire of Passion, headquarters of Passion.jpg|Spire of Passion, headquarters of the Broken Heart kabal Iron Gate.jpg|Iron Gate, city entry exterior Altar of Grief, soul essence extraction facility.jpg|Altar of Grief, soul essence extraction facility -- Royal Seal 19:59, August 8, 2013 (UTC) Category:Cities